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BambaLaye
USA
100 Posts |
 Posted - 26 Apr 2007 : 16:48:43
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http://www.iasociety.org/images/upload/1330.pdf
STATEMENT ON THE GAMBIAN GOVERNMENT’S UNPROVEN CLAIM OF A CURE FOR AIDS
24 April 2007 (Geneva, Switzerland) –As the world’s leading association of HIV professionals, the International AIDS Society’s (IAS) more than 10,000 members are working at all levels of the global response to HIV/AIDS. Our members represent scientists, clinicians, and public health and community leaders on the frontlines of the epidemic in 171 countries worldwide.
As the principal convener of the International AIDS Conference and the upcoming HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention Conference, the IAS is firmly committed to an evidence-based response to the epidemic, based on sound science. It is therefore with great concern that we note recent developments related to HIV treatment in the Gambia.
This concern is echoed by the Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA), an independent association of HIV professionals in Africa, and the custodian of the International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA), the biannual regional AIDS conference in Africa.
Earlier this year, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh announced that he had found a cure for AIDS. He began treating HIV-positive patients with a herbal treatment at the Presidential Palace, with the support of the Department of State for Health and Social Welfare. The initial ten patients, who were responding very well to antiretrovirals (ARVs), were required to stop ARVs in order to receive the herbal treatment. Blood samples from the patients were sent to Professor Souleymane Mboup of the University of Dakar, Senegal, who is the former Regional Representative for Africa on the IAS Governing Council, a member of the Executive Committee of the Society for AIDS in Africa, and the Chair of the next ICASA, to be held in December 2008. A public statement issued by the Office of the Gambian President on 12 February 2007 indicates that tests conducted by Professor Mboup showed undetectable levels of HIV in the samples submitted to him.
In response, Professor Mboup has issued the following statement:
“The interpretation by the Gambian authorities of the results of HIV antibody and viral load testing on blood samples sent to my laboratory is incorrect. Firstly, the results were obtained under false pretenses, when a technician approached us asking for training on our equipment because he had problems operating the equipment in his laboratory. We agreed, and in this process, he asked us to test some anonymous samples, which we later learned were from patients who had received President Yammeh’s treatment.
Of those samples that were HIV-positive (66.66%), none could be described as cured. Viral load was detectable in most cases. In some samples viral load measures were below the level detectible by the tests. This is not surprising, since these patients had been treated with ARVs prior to the administration of the herbal treatment.
Effective antiretroviral therapy can reduce HIV viral load to below levels of detection. In addition, some of the patients were infected with HIV-2, and it is well known that these patients would have lower viral loads compared to HIV-1 patients. However,
extensive research over many years has shown that, even in patients whose HIV viral load is undetectable by standard testing measures, with further specific DNA and RNA testing, HIV can be found in the tissues of all patients.
“There is no known cure for AIDS. Under no circumstances may the tests conducted in my laboratory be used as proof of an alleged cure for HIV. For the results to be used in this way, tests must be conducted before, during and after treatment. International rules regulate the conducting of trials in order to prove therapeutic efficacy.”
IAS President Dr. Pedro Cahn, President of Fundación Huesped in Argentina, added: “Pharmaceutical and traditional medicines have benefited many people with various medical conditions across the world. All products that show promise in the treatment or eradication of HIV should be vigorously studied. The Gambian government has characterized criticism of its herbal treatment as “anti-African”. This is not at all the case. The IAS believes that all reasonable approaches should be scientifically evaluated, including the current Gambian treatment being billed as a “cure”. It is premature and unethical to label this product a cure if it has not been thoroughly tested and proven. Furthermore, to take patients off potent combination antiretroviral therapy, which has saved millions of lives since its introduction in 1996, is shocking and irresponsible.”
The IAS urges its worldwide membership to hold their governments to account for unproven claims of AIDS cures. We advise health care workers and policy makers throughout the world to continue to implement ARV treatment programmes for all who need them, and to clarify the proven dangers of stopping ARVs, including the risk of disease progression and the development of drug resistance.
In closing, SAA President Dr. Femi Soyinka emphasized the continued need to work towards universal access to HIV treatment: “WHO, UNAIDS and UNICEF last week released a report that noted that two million people in low- and middle-income countries were on ARV treatment as of December 2006. This represents a dramatic fifty-four percent (54%) increase from the 1.3 million that were on treatment a year ago, but is still far short of the estimated 7.1 million who are in need of treatment throughout the world. The world must continue to advance HIV prevention and treatment to all those who need it.”
Ends
For further information, contact:
Karen Bennett (Geneva, Switzerland)
Communications Manager, International AIDS Society
Email: Karen.bennett@iasociety.org
Tel: +41 22 710 0832
Malaki Owili (Nairobi, Kenya)
Secretary General, Society for AIDS in Africa (SAA)
Email: dmowili@africaonline.co.ke
Tel : +254 73 479 9154
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dbaldeh
USA
934 Posts |
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dbaldeh
USA
934 Posts |
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Karamba
United Kingdom
3820 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2007 : 19:53:23
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Baldeh,
Not for one moment has it ever occured to right thinking Gambians that Jammeh could be genuine. From day one he towed the wrong line and that's where he stays. What we can all do now is brush Jammeh aside and surrender him to the anals of history. Jammeh betrayed Gambians from start and now he has no guts to accept his follies. For a man of this low, we can do without his likes. We are paying too much to have Jammeh the way he is. After 13 odd years, the entire truth about Jammeh is now surfaced. He proved beyond all doubts his destructive intention for Gambia. Now we have to work on destroying the environment that permited the breeding and growth of Jammeh and his cohorts. In every day of every week, there is one more fibre going weak in what fastens Jammeh to the high seat. We can speed the process by our conscious collective efforts. We have the tools at hand and they have to be put to good use. |
Karamba |
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Karamba
United Kingdom
3820 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2007 : 19:53:23
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Baldeh,
Not for one moment has it ever occured to right thinking Gambians that Jammeh could be genuine. From day one he towed the wrong line and that's where he stays. What we can all do now is brush Jammeh aside and surrender him to the anals of history. Jammeh betrayed Gambians from start and now he has no guts to accept his follies. For a man of this low, we can do without his likes. We are paying too much to have Jammeh the way he is. After 13 odd years, the entire truth about Jammeh is now surfaced. He proved beyond all doubts his destructive intention for Gambia. Now we have to work on destroying the environment that permited the breeding and growth of Jammeh and his cohorts. In every day of every week, there is one more fibre going weak in what fastens Jammeh to the high seat. We can speed the process by our conscious collective efforts. We have the tools at hand and they have to be put to good use. |
Karamba |
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LEMON TIME
Afghanistan
1295 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2007 : 21:07:06
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| This is Yaya for you,Gambia is the only Country lead by a MAD man. |
There is no god but Allah |
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LEMON TIME
Afghanistan
1295 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2007 : 21:07:06
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| This is Yaya for you,Gambia is the only Country lead by a MAD man. |
There is no god but Allah |
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2007 : 21:26:48
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| Sadly it is not the only country lead by a mad man. We just have to hope they dont have neuclear weapons and cant push the button. I want to be able to sleep at night! |
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2007 : 21:26:48
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| Sadly it is not the only country lead by a mad man. We just have to hope they dont have neuclear weapons and cant push the button. I want to be able to sleep at night! |
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Jack
Belgium
384 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2007 : 22:03:28
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dont fear for that in the Gambia Bev. If there was a nuclear weapon he would sold it for his own benefits, and the button would surely be stolen before he could push it and the rocket would be without fuel because used before for his hummers. lol
have a sound sleep |
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Jack
Belgium
384 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2007 : 22:03:28
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dont fear for that in the Gambia Bev. If there was a nuclear weapon he would sold it for his own benefits, and the button would surely be stolen before he could push it and the rocket would be without fuel because used before for his hummers. lol
have a sound sleep |
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2007 : 22:13:16
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| I will try. |
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2007 : 22:13:16
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| I will try. |
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Karamba
United Kingdom
3820 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2007 : 23:55:53
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Baldeh,
Here comes Dr Tamsir Mbowe again. This time, Mbowe is all out to count Jammeh's faked treatment as a scientific reality. Simply, Mbowe is telling the whole wide world that science is advancing and that Jammeh's false cure is part of that advancement. Any SOUND and curious mind would question why Mbowe transforms from medical doctor to a PR spin doctor. Mbowe is now the one creating a doctor of Jammeh. Do we need doctors to sell their prove of cure? How many sick people have gained proper cure from very competent doctors in typical privacy and silence? Is this Dr Jammeh affair true at all?
Read this:
http://observer.gm/enews/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7254&Itemid=1
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Karamba |
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Karamba
United Kingdom
3820 Posts |
Posted - 26 Apr 2007 : 23:55:53
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Baldeh,
Here comes Dr Tamsir Mbowe again. This time, Mbowe is all out to count Jammeh's faked treatment as a scientific reality. Simply, Mbowe is telling the whole wide world that science is advancing and that Jammeh's false cure is part of that advancement. Any SOUND and curious mind would question why Mbowe transforms from medical doctor to a PR spin doctor. Mbowe is now the one creating a doctor of Jammeh. Do we need doctors to sell their prove of cure? How many sick people have gained proper cure from very competent doctors in typical privacy and silence? Is this Dr Jammeh affair true at all?
Read this:
http://observer.gm/enews/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7254&Itemid=1
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Karamba |
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sab
United Kingdom
912 Posts |
Posted - 28 Apr 2007 : 11:43:41
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This SPIN is making a good build-up for the Kanilai Festival where no-doubt men/women & babes will flock in their thousands for a cure!
HIV/AIDS - Diabetes & Asthma, that is an awful lot of people world wide. You may need extra staffing at Banjul Airport!
The publicity could rotate in Gambia's favour for it will bring about more tv/radio coverage and could easily be used to an advantage by giving opportunity to relay to the world the real truth to what actually is going on behind the scenes of the oppressed.
When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it - always. (Mahatma Gandhi) |
The world would be a poorer place if it was peopled by children whose parents risked nothing in the cause of social justice, for fear of personal loss. (Joe Slovo - African revolutionary) |
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| Bantaba in Cyberspace |
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